Completely Unrelated Fascinating Reading

I have decided to recommend two books to you, the faithful who read this blog. I would imagine that if you are willing to spend the time reading and contemplating this blog, you are willing to take my recommendations on some additional reading. Why is it that I only feel useful in conversations that revolve around literature? Anyways, the two books are wildly unrelated, but both are beneficial and enlightening.

The first book is Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (New York: Dial Press, 2005–original copyright, 1969). This is my first Vonnegut book, and it will most assuredly not be my last. I first heard some discussion about him on the BurnsideWritersCollective.com. It peaked my interest so I asked an open-ended question to anyone reading the blog, and was recommended this particular book. It is an anti-war novel telling the story of a soldier (Billy Pilgrim) and his experiences through WWII.

Vonnegut is one of the most respected American authors ever to put pen to paper, and for some reason he has completely escaped my radar until rather recently. There is so much I need to catch up on! Perhaps I should have paid more attention in literature class. Oh well. Such is life.

There have been so many things that have struck me about this book. I here offer a quote that represents so well why I have enjoyed this book:

“Billy licked his lips, thought a while, inquired at last: ‘Why me?’ (to the aliens who had abducted him)
‘That is a very Earthling question to ask, Mr. Pilgrim. Why you? Why us for that matter? Why anything? Because this moment simply is. Have you ever seen bugs trapped in amber?’
‘Yes.’ Billy, in fact, had a paperweight in his office which was a blob of polished amber with three ladybugs in it.
‘Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why.’” (97)

The second book is Through a Screen Darkly: Looking Closer at Beauty, Truth, and Evil in Movies by Jeffery Overstreet (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2007). This is a book my brother recommended to me, and I have not been disappointed. It deals with the idea of Christians theologically reflecting on movies as art. I have already dealt a little bit with this in a previous post. But here he limits his scope to that of movies, naming their power and function in the lives of Christians.

I am constantly encouraged by people who are actively involved in theological reflection on art. And I am especially passionate about movies. I love them. I just love them.

Again, here is just a little from this fabulous book that has really helped me to see clearly the task of theological reflection on film:

“…film is uniquely qualified to explore spirituality. More than any other art, it mirrors our experience in time and space. Reflecting our world back to us, it gives us the opportunity explore and revisit moments. Offering imaginative visions of alternative worlds, it helps us glimpse aspects of our own that we might otherwise have missed. Slowly, we begin to discover the universal in the particular, the timeless in the temporal, the miraculous in the mundane.” (77)

“What is it about fools that they become the characters who see God most clearly and respond to him most honestly?” (86)

“If dining at the table of movies becomes my primary focus, I am forgetting the purpose of the meal. It is served to give me strength so that I can return to my life stronger, healthier and closer to being whole.” (94)

So I hope this is helpful. More later.